News

Kent County Council is talking to three landowners in the region about converting 100 acres of land into a lorry park.

The sites being considered are the Detling area along the A240, the area near the A2 between Canterbury, Lydd and Dover and land off junction 11 of the M20 in Shepway.

A park would initially help solve the problem of Operation Stack, as it could be used when Dover port is closed, says Paul Carter,  leader of KCC. But it could also form a permanent lorry parking site if shower and toilet facilities were added later.

"I have told my officers to come back with costed plans within eight weeks and once we have identified a field I don't see why we can't have it up and running within 12 months," Carter says.

He believes a lorry park could be set up for less than the £10m scheme already put forward to use a moveable barrier on the motorway when Operation Stack is in force. Other suggestions to help lessen the chaos caused by Operation Stack include involving the territorial army to help the police, he adds.

Kent County Council launched an online petition last week urging the Government to stop the disruption caused by Operation Stack. The Department for Transport tells MT that it appreciates the disruption the operation causes, and that it "has commissioned a study to assess the commercial viability of a privately  funded project", adding that funding for lorry parking is to come from the private sector.